Q&A with Joanna Volavka & Threadwalkers Giveaway

by Joanna VolavkaPublished: October 16th 2017 by 50/50 PressGenre: Young Adult Sci-Fi

After her father’s death in a plane crash, Miranda Woodward’s life begins to unravel. On her sixteenth birthday, Miranda receives a mysterious gift: a small wooden box containing a needle and spool of gossamer golden thread, left behind by her father, which begins a chain of events that soon leave her life in chaos. Her pet cat is replaced with another, her teachers don’t have her on their roll call at school, even her closest friends forget who she is. When her mother vanishes into thin air, Miranda becomes desperate for answers. She follows clues to a meet a man known only as the Tailor. With his help, she must find a way to fix her life before it’s too late.

Q&A

1. If you were to describe your e-book/book in only one word, what would it be?
Timeywimey.

2. What would you say inspired you to write it? ?
I was interested in finding a more scientific explanation for ghost sightings, and fell into a science fiction story about time travel from there.

3. What was the source of inspiration for your protagonist? What about your antagonist? ?
Miranda is inspired by several people I have known over the years, but really she is her own person. We share a few interests in common, like a love of books. My antagonists are a shadowy, conspiracy-laced organization, and I just love a good shadowy conspiracy!

4. Have you ever been hit by the infamous “writer’s block”? What did you do to escape it? ?
Writer’s block happens to everyone at some point or another. The best way to deal with it is to just keep making yourself write. Bad words are still words, and you can always edit things later.

5. Your all time favorite book? ?
I’m not sure I can choose a favorite. Lord of the Rings was my favorite growing up. Redwall has a special place in my heart, too.

6. What made you pick that one above all others? ?
Lord of the Rings was the first book I ever obsessed over. It was like stepping into a whole other world and I read it over and over and over….

7. What’s the longest time you’ve spent working on a project? ?
This book, Threadwalkers, was a five year process start to finish, which is fairly long, I suppose. I have other stories that I started many years ago but might revisit someday.

8. Would you say becoming an author has changed you? In what way? ?
It’s certainly fun to see my book for sale! Mostly it’s brought this thing that used to be pretty private (writing) into common conversation with everyone I know. That’s very different for me. Suddenly people want to ask questions about what I’m working on, too!

9. Was there ever a time, during your work on the e-book/book, when you felt like giving up? What made you change your mind? ?
I don’t think I ever wanted to give up while writing it. Querying was a very long process, and I almost abandoned it during that, but I’m glad I stuck with it.

10. What does your day-to-day life consist of? What else do you do, aside writing? ?
I am currently in graduate school to get my master’s degree in conservation biology!

11. How do you deal with bad reviews or acid criticism? What would you advise other authors to that effect? ?
The biggest thing is to not take it personally. Even if the critic words the review as a personal attack, I know that they don’t actually know me. Not every book is for every person, and that’s totally fine!

12. What do you have stored for us in the future? What are you working on/planning on next, aside this title/series? ?
I’m working on something completely new next. If all goes according to plan (ha!), it will be a gothic horror. I wanted to stretch my writing muscle in a little bit of a different direction!

Fun facts: :

1. If you could wish for any one thing, and it would immediately come true, what would you wish for? ?
Infinite tacos. But not like piles of them. Just, whenever I want a taco, here is a taco!

2. If you were stranded on an isolated island, what’s the one book you’d absolutely wish to have with you? ?
A choose your own adventure, so I could read it multiple times with each read through being different. (Why don’t they make these for adults, anyway?)

3. Name your favorite fruit. ?
Jill. (Jill is a mango. You said to name it, though.)

4. Coffee or tea? ?
Tea.

5. Favorite season? ?
Summer

6. How about fav time of 24 hours? ?
11:43am. Morning but not quite lunch time.

7. Were you a boyscout/girlscout? ?
No, but I was a Pioneer, which is very similar. Badges and everything.

10. Do you collect things like stamps, or key chains, or shoes? ?
I collect the US National Park quarters.

11. Favorite color, you know you want to tell us! ?
To wear: sunshine yellow
In home goods: teal
To look at: green
In general: PINK.

12. Drama or comedy? ?
Disney

13. Have a fav quote or personal motto? ?
Persistence over perfection

14. Cats or dogs? ?
Yes. (I have two cats and I love them dearly.)

15. Dinner by candlelight or a night out clubbing? ?
Depends on the night! Both are fun, though I’m getting a little old for true clubbing—I get tired much earlier than I used to!

16. What song have you listened to most recently? ?
Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea by Fall Out Boy

17. What first came to mind after reading question no. 1 of the Fun Facts section? I mean that thing that you reconsidered after giving it more thought 😛 ?
A unicorn! (How did you know? Haha.) I changed my mind when I thought about having to muck a unicorn stable. I mean, mucking is very satisfying, but so are vacations, and unless you can afford to board your unicorn somewhere, it’s pretty hard to get a housesitter willing to clean up after the unicorn. I’m just trying to be practical.

Full Disclosure:

1. Your top secret, uber guilty pleasure is… ?
So here’s the thing—I like a lot of things that would probably fall into this category, but I have never felt guilty for liking a thing. If you like something, that’s cool! You do you. (I like pop music and the color pink and horror and weird taxidermy and all kinds of things.)

2. If you could choose to be someone else for just one day, it would be… ?
My cat.

3. Your oldest memory is… ?
…also a cat. My earliest memory is of my parents’ cat Smokey sitting on the other side of my bedroom, guarding the door while I slept.

4. If everyone would receive a prize for being best at something, you’d be no. 1 at… ?
Puns and one-liners. Especially bad ones.

5. The one thing you’d do anything to avoid/get out of is… ?
Skydiving. Why in the world would you jump out of a perfectly good plane????

6. Your favorite part of a date is… ?
Spending time with my SO. It doesn’t matter what we do, as long as we’re together. Holding hands is nice, too.

7. If a character from any book could become real and you could spend a day with them, it would be… from the book… ?
Hermione Granger, but when she’s the age I am now.

8. You were/are a hardcore fan of… ?
Lord of the Rings was my first fandom obsession. There have been others since then, but you never forget your first!

9. You’d immediately fall for someone who… ?
Handed me a kitten.

10. The one thing you could/can never get over is… ?
HAN SHOT FIRST.

11. If you could have any one superpower, it would be… ?
Changing my appearance at will. Nothing huge, just like changing my hair color, or maybe eye color sometimes for fun.

12. The one thing that always brightens your day is… ?
Fresh flowers and a full pot of tea.

13. The most awkward moment in your life happened when… ?
There have been SO MANY. Just today I nearly tripped and fell face first down a hill because I didn’t see that the sidewalk suddenly sloped.

14. The awesomest thing in your life is… ?
I have a pretty great support system in my friends and family. <3

GIVEAWAY!

Author Bio & Links:

Joanna Volavka is the author of the young adult science fiction novel Threadwalkers. She currently lives in Chicago with her husband, two cats, and extensive book collection. A writer for Geek Girl Pen Pals, Joanna spends her time alternately between creative artistic pursuits and has a passion for conservation and wildlife while working on whatever story she’s got brewing in her overly active imagination. She still hasn’t decided what she’s going to be when she grows up, though she suspects it will probably be herself. Read more about Joanna and her adventures on her website www.joannavolavka.com
You can connect with Joanna on Twitter: @joannavolavka and on Instagram: @joannavolavka and @geekyjo

Haus Butterfly Crest xD

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